AMES, Ia. — Many of the young players on the Iowa State football team are getting opportunities to show what they can do as the Cyclones prepare for their Dec. 30 game at the Liberty Bowl.

One player who has already taken advantage of his chances: sophomore running back Kene Nwangwu.

“Kene Nwangwu is great to have back,” said Iowa State coach Matt Campbell. “We missed him and he’s 100 percent and had a great run (Sunday) and you almost had to do a double take.”

Nwangwu was expected to play a significant role in the Iowa State offense this season after a fantastic freshman season. The 6-foot-1, 202-pound sophomore averaged 26.4 yards per kick return — ranking second in the Big 12 Conference and 15th nationally in 2016. Nwangwu also rushed for 133 yards on 27 carries and caught one pass for 16 yards.

The Cyclones haven’t been able to utilize his speed this season after Nwangwu went down during the offseason with the Achilles' tendon injury. Nwangwu worked his way back to health during the season, and Campbell kept the door open for a possible return in 2017.

But Iowa State decided to wait on Nwangwu, redshirt him, and rely on running backs David Montgomery, Sheldon Croney Jr. and Mike Warren. Iowa State’s return game suffered the most. The Cyclones rotated six different players in that role.

Without Nwangwu, the Cyclones ranked sixth among the 10 Big 12 teams in kickoff returns, averaging just 20.5 yards per return. But there is good news for the future, with Nwangwu looking good as Campbell gives a lot of the early bowl practice reps to his young players.

Campbell said the plan is to rest many of his regulars through the start of the bowl prep and give many of Iowa State’s inexperienced players chances to show what they can do. He’ll start working his regulars back into the rotation over the last two weeks leading up to the game.

In the meantime, Nwangwu is showing signs of his old self.

“There’s been a lot of those guys (getting chances) but boy, Kene is great to have back and full go and playing football again,” Campbell said.

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Iowa State wide receiver Allen Lazard believes Nwangwu may be even better when he finally returns to the field.

“I think he’s faster,” Lazard said.

Nwangwu has impressed many of the starters who have watched him stand out while they rest on the sidelines.

“It’s not even a play,” said Iowa State quarterback Kyle Kempt. "It’s just every time he has the ball in his hands — he’s just so explosive and so fast that you just remember what this kid was as a freshman. It’s only going to get better. It’s awesome to see him healthy again.”

Nwangwu is expected to play an important role in Iowa State’s offense in 2018. He’ll add to Iowa State’s talented backfield and provide a spark on special teams.